DOL rule aims to diversify apprenticeship programs

The Department of Labor (DOL) is proposing a rule to help employers grow and diversify their apprenticeship programs.

The rule updates the current regulations for registered apprenticeship programs to extend equal employment opportunity protections to older, disabled, lesbian, gay and bisexual workers.

{mosads}The rules also provide new apprenticeship programs more time to develop initial affirmative action programs. New and existing apprenticeships will also be given more flexibility in updating plans. 

“Since President Obama’s 2014 State of the Union address, when he challenged employers and educators to double the number of apprenticeships by 2019, the U.S. has had the largest growth in apprenticeships in nearly a decade,” Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez said in a news release.

“As we continue to make substantial progress in expanding apprenticeships in America, we also need to make sure that those opportunities are available to women, communities of color, those with disabilities, and other underserved populations who have struggled to navigate or access this critical onramp to the skills superhighway.”

DOL said apprentices who complete programs earn an average starting yearly salary of more than $50,000 and during their careers earn $300,000 more on average than their non-apprentice peers.

The new rules will simplify and define the employer process for analyzing talent in the market; clarify outreach, recruitment and retention expectations; and create a more flexible framework for the Office of Apprenticeship and states to work with apprenticeship programs.

The public has until Jan. 5 to comment on the proposed rule.